THE price to ship something keeps increasing, causing headaches for consumers across the US.
As shoppers face high cost of living pressures, the USPS has revealed it will increase shipping costs during this upcoming holiday season.
This mail service (not pictured here) is looking to raise prices for another time this year (stock)[/caption]
These price increases could range from 40 cents to as much as $16.
It would depend on what you’re shipping, its weight and how far it would travel.
The USPS uses “zones” to measure the distance the package needs to travel from its original drop-off location.
And it’ll affect the following services.
- Priority Mail Express (PME)
- Priority Mail (PM)
- USPS Ground Advantage
- Parcel Select
Here’s a snapshot of how things would change.
Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage: Zone 1-4
- $0.40 cents increase for Zones 1-4, 0-3 lbs.
- $0.60 cents increase for Zones 1-4, 4-10 lbs.
- $0.95 cents increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.00 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
The USPS announced full details earlier this month.
ARE YOU SHIPPING ME?
The move comes right after the USPS announced two rounds of price increases for services like postal stamps, one-ounce letters and postcards.
Some called that increase unjustifiable.
The USPS has also started cutting back on certain services and delaying delivery times.
The holiday season price-increase policy has been approved by the board of governors.
But it needs to be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
The price increase proposals come as the agency faces some losses.
It suffered a $3.1 billion loss for the fiscal year third quarter ending June 30, Yahoo Finance reports.
USPS mess-ups
The United States Postal Service is facing customer complaints as the mail agency struggles to stay afloat admit workforce cuts and financial loss.
Customers were recently warned about major disruptions as mail carriers were assigned new duties under a new plan by the Trump administration.
Other residents were slapped with unexpected bills and fees after their mail was delivered late for months.
The USPS also admitted the reason why packages stopped being delivered to certain homes in rural areas.
The agency gave a pitiful five-word response to homeowners after they didn’t receive mail for two months.
They were also forced to respond after mail sat untouched at a key processing hub for weeks.
The USPS blamed higher costs and lower volumes.
The agency states that the holiday season hikes “will bring prices for the Postal Service’s retail and commercial customers in line with competitive practices.”
But some customers are shaking their heads.
Users have taken to social media to voice their frustration over price increases and issues with customer service.
“Yet service continues to delay and decline,” one person posted on Facebook in response to news about the holiday season price increase.
“No thanks, I will use UPS or FedEx,” another posted.
